At the Library: Learn to research without Googling’

OK, middle and high school students. This is just for you.The scenario ­— you have been given a research or homework assignment and your teacher said “No Googling.”

Carol Reinhardt

OK, middle and high school students. This is just for you.

The scenario ­— you have been given a research or homework assignment and your teacher said “No Googling.”

What are you going to do?

If you participate in the Gaston County Public Library’s upcoming No Googling interactive introduction to online and print resources for homework help and research projects, you’ll know exactly how to tackle the job.

No Googling, a free public event appropriate for teens in grades 6 through 12, will be presented at 7 p.m. Sept. 24 in the auditorium of the Gaston County Public Library, 1555 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia.

No reservations are required for individuals. Advance reservations are required for organized groups to ensure seating.

Presented by our Gaston County Public Library professional Reference Services staff, this great multi-media introduction to reputable print and online resources will help completing those school assignment fast and easy. (Well, maybe at least easy ...)

So when your teacher said “No Googling,” you probably interpreted that statement as meaning you have to find a book on your topic.

OK, books are good; we can look for a book first.

You probably already know how to use our online public-access catalog by keyword, title, or author.

But this presentation will help you refine those skills, revealing the actual nitty gritty details of topic searches, defining the breadth of search, or using a known expert’s name to dig out hidden resources.

And how can you best use other print resources, like dictionaries or encyclopedias?

But what if there isn’t a book in the library that covers your topic? Or that isn’t recent enough? Or comprehensive enough?

Where do you go next?

How do you find articles on your topic in magazines, newspapers, or other periodicals?

How can you use the multitudes of resources at NC Live and the plethora of other databases available at our Gaston County Public Library website to ace that school assignment?

You’ll even learn the fine art of deciding whether to print or not print, how to save your research or access it online, and how to create great bibliographies.

By the end of this informative how-to presentation, you’ll be ready to tackle any assignment.

And we promise there will be no pop quiz at the end.

For more information about the Sept. 24 “No Googling” event and other Gaston County Public Library activities, call 704-868-2164/Dial 4 or visit www.gastonlibrary.org.

Carol Reinhardt is program coordinator for the Gaston County Public Library. Her column runs on Sundays.